From the WSJ:
Columnist David Frum at the National Review sounded what is becoming a common complaint from the right: Why couldn't Mr. Bush pick someone with crystal clear conservative stripes? "I worked with Harriet Miers. She's a lovely person: intelligent, honest, capable, loyal, discreet, dedicated ... I could pile on the praise all morning. But there is no reason at all to believe either that she is a legal conservative or -- and more importantly -- that she has the spine and steel necessary to resist the pressures that constantly bend the American legal system toward the left. ... We are being asked by this president to take this appointment purely on trust, without any independent reason to support it. And that is not a request conservatives can safely grant."
Raising early hackles among conservatives are Ms. Miers's campaign-contribution records (the Red State blog has a list) showing donations to Al Gore's first presidential run in 1988 and to former Texas Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen in 1987. "Mr. President, you've got some explaining to do. And please remember - we've been defending you these five years because of this moment," one poster to Red State writes.
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John Hawkins of Right Wing News isn't merely disappointed with the choice. "This is undoubtedly the worst decision of Bush's entire presidency so far," he writes. "Miers is a Bush crony with no real conservative credentials, who leapfrogged legions of more deserving judges just because she was Bush's pal…You want a candidate who has 'Souter' written all over her? You want a candidate who can't be trusted to overturn Roe v. Wade? Well, her name is Harriet Miers."
Tom Goldstein of ScotusBlog predicts Ms. Miers will be rejected by the Senate. The right wing of the Republican party is disappointed and may hope the nomination is rejected in favor of a more conservative choice, while moderates have little incentive to support the nominee, he says. "Nor does Miers have a built in 'fan base' of people in Washington, in contrast to the people (Democratic and Republican) who knew and respected John Roberts. Even if Democrats aren't truly gravely concerned, they will see this as an opportunity to damage the President."
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